1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to improvements to retail checkout systems, and more particularly to advantageous aspects of a system and methods for facilitating remote approval of transactions occurring at retail checkout terminals.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The retail checkout process at a cashier-operated checkout terminal includes many stages, including the scanning and identification of items to be purchased, and the tendering of payment by the retail customer. Many of these stages can require approval by a supervisor. The reasons for approval are varied, but can involve price-required items, discounts, voids, and/or transaction cancellations. Typically, in these situations, the transaction is halted as the cashier summons a supervisor, who analyzes the situation, performs any needed action, and then allows the transaction to continue.
The need for approval by a supervisor presents difficulties in implementing a self-checkout environment, in which the checkout function is performed not by a cashier, but rather by the retail customer. In addition to the above-described situations, the self-checkout environment may include new situations requiring approval by a store supervisor. These situations can involve transaction types that the store prefers not to conduct at the self-checkout lane itself, plus items or issues relating to security, device errors, or even requests for help.
Certain current self-checkout systems require the retail customer to summon a store employee to the self-checkout terminal when an approval situation arises. The employee then operates the local machine directly to expedite the situation. However, this scenario is practical only when there are a small number of self-checkout lanes in close proximity to each other. When there are a larger number of lanes and/or they are not physically close to each other, the approval function becomes hard to handle efficiently and quickly with direct manual intervention.
One current self-checkout system allows a store employee to perform the approval function remotely, but in that system, each situation is handled at the time the issue is created. In addition, that implementation does not distinguish between xe2x80x9cordinaryxe2x80x9d approvals that can be handled using the store""s current methods and xe2x80x9cself-checkoutxe2x80x9d items that are peculiar to the self-checkout environment. This remote approach leads to complexities in the system software, as the algorithms needed to control the store""s general business are commingled with the algorithms needed to address self-checkout issues.
These and other issues are addressed by the invention described herein.
A first embodiment of the present invention provides a system for processing store interventions in a network of self-checkout terminals. Each self-checkout terminal monitors the self-checkout activities performed at that terminal to determine whether an issue has arisen requiring intervention by store personnel and places each such detected issue into an issues log in order of priority. A remote authorization station connected into the network accesses the issues log to review and resolve the issues that have arisen in priority order. Further, where it is determined that an issue has arisen at a self-checkout terminal that cannot be resolved at that terminal, the transaction is suspended and then resumed at a personnel-operated terminal.